Advanced Scientologists from around the world attended the Freewinds Maiden Voyage Anniversary, June 11-18 in the Caribbean. The convocation is held each year aboard the Church’s religious retreat—Scientology Motor Vessel Freewinds.

The Barbadian community turned out as the Freewinds set sail from the port of Bridgetown. In honor of the 28th Maiden Voyage Anniversary Cruise, Barbados’ Minister of Culture, the Hon. Stephan Lashley declared, “It has been our pleasure to have this wonderful ship here in Barbados over so many years. Through our exchanges we will succeed in our ongoing journey toward a more unified Caribbean.”

Each June, the Church of Scientology celebrates the anniversary of the Freewinds Maiden Voyage. The annual weeklong convocation, attended by Scientologists who have attained the highest spiritual levels in the Church, presents a midyear review of recent successes and charts a future course for expansion.

The Scientology Religious Retreat Freewinds casts off from Bridgetown, Barbados for her weeklong Maiden Voyage celebration.

Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center, commenced a week of celebration that included an array of events covering Scientology advances, expansion, good news and much more.

“Indeed, you are about to witness a panoramic view of our movement,” said David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, at the inauguration of the Maiden Voyage Anniversary. “A movement that now spans across both hemispheres in the name of Ideal Organizations: from South America and Central America, to the borderlands of the United Kingdom and the heartland of Europe, and onto Africa and across to Australasia. Because, and after all, with an Ideal Organization we can bring all we have to bear in the name of help, to every neighborhood, every community, everywhere—and thereby all together we can realize a better world.”

Mr. David Miscavige, led an opening night celebration of the Maiden Voyage that presented a midyear report of monumental Scientology growth.

At the Maiden Voyage, Mr. Miscavige highlighted the 28‑year legacy of the Freewinds’ humanitarian mission in the Caribbean.

Along with its religious mission, the Freewinds has a humanitarian imperative to bring about a safe environment at every port to which it travels. Consequently, the Freewinds partners with national police and military organizations to deliver programs to nations across the Caribbean as well as Central and South America.

“Our heartfelt gratitudefor your continued Human Rights partnership and making the world a safer place”

— Secretary General UNESCOSt. Kitts & Nevis

“The Freewinds enables us to enhance lives through knowledge.”

— Substance Abuse CouncilSt. Lucia

“We look forward to a continuing relationship with the Freewinds to build a better St. Martin.”

—Evangelical ChurchSt. Martin

“To the Freewinds in honor of 27 years of service.”

— Royal Dutch NavyAruba

“We will continue to use The Way to Happiness to uplift our nation.”

— Royal Police ForceAntigua

“My appreciation to the Freewinds for introducing programs to fight today’s social ills.”

— The St. Michael SchoolBarbados

“I look forward to the continued support of the Freewinds in our efforts to rid Dominica of drug abuse.”

— National Drug Abuse Prevention UnitDominica

“We will continue to work with the Freewinds to increase awareness of Human Rights.”

—Bishops CollegeSt. Vincent

The Freewinds has had more than 400 awards, proclamations and recognitions bestowed upon her.

The Church of Scientology has experienced 12 months of expansion that out-powers many previous years combined. And, led by Mr. Miscavige, every element of it was on show at the opening night of the Maiden Voyage on June 11.

In addition to the Freewinds Maiden Voyage Anniversary evening events, attendees participated in seminars and planning meetings to detail out the establishment of new Ideal Churches in their geographic zones.

The Maiden Voyage next featured a night entirely dedicated to the literary legacy of L. Ron Hubbard.

“First and foremost, LRH was an author. As such, tonight is about what he once described as ‘life’s necessity to realize that, whatever you do, you must do well.’ Then again, it’s all about becoming what critics described as ‘an all-time giant in an age of prodigious storytelling and an author whose influence can only be measured in centuries.’”

Mr. Miscavige commenced an evening in honor of L. Ron Hubbard as a figure at the forefront of 21st century popular fiction.

Dan Sherman, Biographer of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, gave a narrative about LRH’s exploits and accomplishments as one of the leading writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction in the 1930s and ‘40s—before he authored Dianetics and established Scientology.

Mr. Sherman told tales of how L. Ron Hubbard and barely a dozen colleagues created the canon of Science Fiction’s Golden Age.

The evening’s chronological overview led right up to the very book Mr. Hubbard wrote to celebrate his golden anniversary as a professional writer—Battlefield Earth, a New York Times bestselling novel, now released in a 21st century edition. The novel’s 47-hour audiobook edition is described as a “Movie of the Mind.”

Placing an exclamation point on an evening celebrating L. Ron Hubbard as an author, 22-time Grammy Award Winner Chick Corea performed songs from his albums entitled To the Stars and The Ultimate Adventure both of which are based on seminal LRH fiction works. Mr. Corea further thrilled the crowd with keyboard improvisations inspired by LRH’s epic novel, Battlefield Earth.

Yet another evening of the Maiden Voyage celebration was exclusively dedicated to the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) and its role as a movement for humanitarian uplift and social betterment.

A Human Rights education movement sprung to life across Papua New Guinea’s Southern Highlands with greater than 58,000 reached with the message that “these are your rights.”

DELIVERING HUMAN RIGHTS TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA

A Human Rights education movement sprung to life across Papua New Guinea’s Southern Highlands with greater than 58,000 reached with the message that “these are your rights.”

YOUTH FOR HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN NIKOLAEV, UKRAINE

Youth for Human Rights in Nikolaev, Ukraine, galvanized a network of volunteers that subsequently brought rights education to every school in the city.

YOUTH FOR HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN NIKOLAEV, UKRAINE

Youth for Human Rights in Nikolaev, Ukraine, galvanized a network of volunteers that subsequently brought rights education to every school in the city.

RAISING RIGHTS AWARENESS ACROSS AMERICA

In partnership with an education network out of Washington, D.C., Youth for Human Rights reached more than 240,000 American kids with a human rights mandate.

RAISING RIGHTS AWARENESS ACROSS AMERICA

In partnership with an education network out of Washington, D.C., Youth for Human Rights reached more than 240,000 American kids with a human rights mandate.

CURBING DRUG ABUSE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In the Caribbean’s Dominican Republic, Drug-Free World partnered with national drug counselors to instill better than 170,000 with The Truth About Drugs.

CURBING DRUG ABUSE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In the Caribbean’s Dominican Republic, Drug-Free World partnered with national drug counselors to instill better than 170,000 with The Truth About Drugs.

SATURATING SOUTH AFRICA WITH THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUGS

Drug-Free World South Africa fought a synthetic drug epidemic in the townships, ultimately bringing The Truth About Drugs to more than 2.5 million people.

SATURATING SOUTH AFRICA WITH THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUGS

Drug-Free World South Africa fought a synthetic drug epidemic in the townships, ultimately bringing The Truth About Drugs to more than 2.5 million people.

DRUG-FREE WORLD BLITZ AT SUPER BOWL 50

At San Francisco's Super Bowl 50, Drug-Free World carried out a weeklong anti-drug blitz to rack up over 300,000 people reached with Truth About Drugs booklets in just nine days.

DRUG-FREE WORLD BLITZ AT SUPER BOWL 50

At San Francisco's Super Bowl 50, Drug-Free World carried out a weeklong anti-drug blitz to rack up over 300,000 people reached with Truth About Drugs booklets in just nine days.

FORGING HAPPINESS IN LATVIA

In Latvia, volunteers set about and reached ten percent of their population with the common sense guide to living embodied in The Way to Happiness.

FORGING HAPPINESS IN LATVIA

In Latvia, volunteers set about and reached ten percent of their population with the common sense guide to living embodied in The Way to Happiness.

BRINGING CALM IN DURANGO

Gomez Palacio, in Mexico’s Durango state was site of a The Way to Happiness education movement that saw a 12 percent drop in crime.

BRINGING CALM IN DURANGO

Gomez Palacio, in Mexico’s Durango state was site of a The Way to Happiness education movement that saw a 12 percent drop in crime.

A WAY TO HAPPINESS MESSAGE IN AMSTERDAM

Volunteers spread a message of common sense morality across Amsterdam, distributing thousands of copies and reaching every household in the city.

A WAY TO HAPPINESS MESSAGE IN AMSTERDAM

Volunteers spread a message of common sense morality across Amsterdam, distributing thousands of copies and reaching every household in the city.

CROWNING THE EVENING in honor of the IAS was the announcement of a landmark legal decision. It was a victory over a blatant act of bigotry, a 670-page Belgium Parliamentary Commission report published in 1997 that stigmatized 189 religions and religious organizations. Driven by sectarian fervor, false charges followed against the Church and its members in what the court described as a deliberate attempt to put a religion, its doctrine or beliefs on trial. Yet, after 18 years, and a 7-week hearing, a 173-page decision dismissed all charges, vindicated all defendants and declared the entire case to be a “serious and irremediable breach of the right to a fair trial”—total triumph for the Church and for religious freedom in Europe.

“The entire proceedings are declared inadmissible”

— First Instance Court of Brussels

At the end of the weeklong celebration, the Freewinds cast off for another year of passage in her native Caribbean waters, and the next 12 months of ever-advancing growth for the Scientology religion.

THE CARIBBEAN

JUNE 20, 2016

Advanced Scientologists board Freewinds for June week of planning in the name of Church expansion and celebrating an amazing year of triumphs.

They started arriving on Friday in small groups, and by Saturday they were more than 200 strong—dedicated, determined compatriots happily wending their way through bustling Bridgetown, the capital of the Caribbean nation of Barbados. As the tropic sun warmed them, and trade winds cooled them, the group streamed towards a ship docked at the city’s harbor, a dazzling white vessel, 440 feet in length and festooned for celebration. The visitors were greeted by steel-drum bands, a festive crowd of well-wishers and local dignitaries cheering the visitors with “bon voyage.”

Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center, commenced a week of celebration that included an array of events covering Scientology advances, expansion, good news and much more.

For the Caribbean, merry send-offs of cruise ships and their seagoing tourists are common. But that ship is not a pleasure craft, nor were the attendees assembled for mere fun, although they certainly enjoyed themselves. While the ship, the Motor Vessel Freewinds, has similarities to a cruise ship—the classic lines, stylish staterooms and first-class cuisine of an ocean liner—it is a religious retreat for the Church of Scientology.

For 51 weeks of the year, the Freewinds logs and charts adventures that bring humanitarian and educational programs to the Caribbean and Latin America; and the ship hosts spiritual services for the most advanced Scientologists.

That remaining week of the year? It’s special. Very special. Scientologists who have attained the highest spiritual levels of the religion gather in June to look back on the year, celebrate the expansion of the Church, and the successes of massive global humanitarian crusades. Even more important, they coordinate their actions for even greater accomplishments in the coming months.

The annual expedition is a convocation of the most advanced Scientologists of the religion. Those attending Maiden Voyage also are part of a dedicated group that has spearheaded the expansion of the religion, particularly through the creation of Ideal Churches in their geographic zone.

“Indeed, you are about to witness a panoramic view of our movement,” said David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, at the inauguration of the Maiden Voyage Anniversary. “A movement that now spans across both hemispheres in the name of Ideal Organizations: from South America and Central America, to the borderlands of the United Kingdom and the heartland of Europe, and onto Africa and across to Australasia. Because, and after all, with an Ideal Organization we can bring all we have to bear in the name of help, to every neighborhood, every community, everywhere—and thereby all together we can realize a better world.”

Nightly major events and briefings of Maiden Voyage covered a diverse and captivating agenda.

HONORING A HUMANITARIAN SHIP

First on the agenda was the Freewinds itself. This is a ship with a unique humanitarian mission, which was underscored by campaigns in the Caribbean and Latin America throughout the last year. For example, Maiden Voyage attendees learned about Ecuadorian Police Captain Marcelo Montenegro, who vowed to bring Scientology-sponsored programs to his nation, spearheaded by the nation’s police and cadets. Already, there has been a 65-percent drop in general crime and homicides where The Truth About Drugs program and The Way to Happiness, Mr. Hubbard’s common sense moral code, have been applied.

The ship’s humanitarian mission was further highlighted by officials and dignitaries all across the islands. They include:

The Secretary General of UNESCO in St. Kitts giving her “heartfelt gratitude” for the Ship’s “continued Human Rights partnership and making the world a better place.”

The Commission of the Antigua Royal Police in recognition of the nearly 250 officers now educated in The Way to Happiness eliciting their pledge to apply those precepts for “uplifting [their] Island Nation.”

And the Royal Dutch Navy of Aruba honoring the Freewinds’ now total “27 years of service.”

Those sentiments echoed through the islands the Freewinds calls home: Antigua, Dominica, St. Martin, St. Kitts, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Barbados, Grenada, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Freeport and Nassau. Altogether, the Freewinds has won more than 400 awards and honors for aiding her ports of call.

AN EVENING DEDICATED TO L. RON HUBBARD

“First and foremost, LRH was an author,” said Mr. Miscavige when introducing the enchanting evening’s presentation in honor of Mr. Hubbard’s legacy.

Dan Sherman, the biographer of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, gave a narrative about LRH’s exploits and accomplishments as one of the leading writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction in the 1930s and ‘40s—before he authored Dianetics and established Scientology. Mr. Sherman presented interviews with luminaries of the literary genre—including a legendary agent, one of the genre’s most acclaimed illustrators and a pioneer of science fiction fandom.

That narrative led right through the chronological milestones of Mr. Hubbard’s writing, right up to the very book he wrote to celebrate his golden anniversary as a professional author—Battlefield Earth, a New York Times bestselling novel, now released in a 21st century edition.

A NIGHT IN THE NAME OF GLOBAL SALVAGE

Those aboard for the Maiden Voyage attended a formal event honoring the International Association of Scientologists (IAS), whose mission is to further the social betterment efforts of the religion, support and protect the aims of the religion, and to expand the Church. Among the IAS-supported groups highlighted in the event were:

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights, which during 2016 fought to curb systemic psychiatric abuse in Kazakhstan mental health facilities, within hospitals of Peru and throughout California's foster children’s network.

Drug-Free World, a group that carried its crusade to turn back the tide of addiction spreading over South Africa's townships, to bring the anti-drug message to Dominican Republic schools, and during a weeklong blitz for San Francisco's Super Bowl 50.

Finally, The Way to Happiness, which brought calm and morality as it arrived in Latvia, on the streets of Amsterdam and in the city of Gomez Palacio in Mexico's Durango state.

What was undoubtedly a magnificent win for religious freedom became a cause for celebration aboard the Freewinds. Mr. Miscavige crowned the night with the announcement of a landmark legal decision that protects the freedom to practice one’s religion throughout all 47 countries that adhere to the European Convention on Human Rights. It was a victory over a blatant act of bigotry, a 670-page Belgium Parliamentary Commission report published in 1997 that stigmatized 189 religions and religious organizations. Driven by sectarian fervor, false charges followed against the Church and its members in what the court described as a deliberate attempt to put a religion, its doctrine or beliefs on trial. Yet, after 18 years, and a 7-week hearing, a 173-page decision dismissed all charges, vindicated all defendants and declared the entire case to be a “serious and irremediable breach of the right to a fair trial.” The decision was a total triumph for the Church and for religious freedom in Europe.

One theme was evident in many ways throughout the weeklong convocation: Church expansion. Between the evening events, Scientologists gathered for planning meetings, in groups representing various continents and geographic zones. The agendas included scoping out new Church buildings for acquisition, reviewing space plans and designs and targeting for construction. On hand were representatives of the Church’s International Landlord Office, the operations headquarters for building projects across the globe.

The result has been the opening of 51 Ideal Churches (Ideal Orgs). The most recent opening was in April in Atlanta, and the next are slated in Harlem, NYC, and Budapest, Hungary. Another 50 Ideal Orgs are set to open in the next two years.

The finale message of the weeklong convocation was not so much one of “farewell.” But rather, Mr. Miscavige gave a spirited “fare-forward” as passengers disembarked now loaded with ideas for a bold future, and their sights set on horizons and another year of accomplishment.

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